Page 140 of Twisted Ties

“She thought you deserved to be tortured.”

“And why would she think that, Miss Blackwaters?”

“Because she knows what an asshole you’ve been.”

“I thought we agreed to keep details of our private lives private.”

“Winnie is my best friend. You have Azlan to talk with about things. I need someone too.”

“I thought you had the pig for that.”

“Delete the photo,” Azlan growls from his corner, where he’s doing a very good impression of looking like the grim reaper himself. Certainly, like he might be about to take a life.

“No,” I say automatically. I don’t really care if I keep it or not but he’s not ruling my life.

“Hand the phone over, Blackwaters.” Stone holds out his hand to me.

“No, it’s my body and my phone.”

“You know how easy phones are to hack into? You want that photo shared around the school?”

I shrug. “Most of the school have seen my tits.”

“What?” Azlan growls, stepping out of the shadows.

“Courtesy of your lovely, little cousin.”

I glare at them both. So much for seduction. The picture obviously wasn’t as enticing as I thought it was.

“The photo was very fucking enticing, Miss Blackwaters, which is why it needs to be deleted. And as for seduction–”

“Can you not stay out of my head for more than two seconds?”

“As for seduction,” he repeats, in a low voice, “that isn’t why we asked you over.”

I fiddle with the hem of my dress. I’m guessing they’ve invited me over for the ‘serious’ talk. Where Azlan tells me we need more time apart and Stone tells me last weekend was all a mistake. One he regrets.

“I don’t regret it,” he says softly. “It wasn’t a mistake. But we’re not rushing into anything here either, remember? And the three of us have limited time to talk. The match starts in less than an hour and they’ll be expecting me there.”

“Then what do you want to talk about?”

“What Azlan found out West,” Stone says.

“And those memories in your head, Rhi,” the man in black adds.

I lean back against the door and close my eyes. The wood is smooth and cool against my palms. I don’t want to think about those memories.

“You’re asking me now?” I whisper. “You haven’t asked me once this week.”

“I told you to leave them well alone,” Azlan says, “until we could talk again.”

“But they’ve been creeping into my awareness anyway.” Isuck air down into my lungs. “Every time I close my eyes. Every time I try to sleep. And it’s getting harder to tell which ones are memories and which ones are bad dreams invading my head.”

“Some of those memories were dreams, Rhi,” Stone says, and I open my eyes.

“And the funny thing is I don’t remember dreaming like that. I rarely ever dream you see. Once, twice a year maybe and now my sleep is flooded with them.”

“The dreams in your memories, what were they of?” Azlan asks.